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I great re-print from 1972, where Alan Kay describes, even draws what is effectively a tablet or eBook, and argues for it's technological and pedagogical value in schools. Amazingly he priced this at $500, which was quite a sum back then, and almost exactly the price of netbooks and tablets today.

Some statements stand out in your memory for the power with which they resonate through you mind. I recall the first time I encountered the question posed by Alan November "Who owns the learning?" on the cover of his book of the same name. In four words, Alan poses a question that strikes at the heart of education and encourages us to re-think our approach. If we believe that the learner should own the learning, what are the implications of this for our teaching? Like a stone dropped on the surface of a calm pond, the ripples from a powerful idea spread, expand and gain strength. 

"Students who self-assess are the best? That's what Alan November says. Research shows that students who self-assess their work become top students. What does this mean? Any school can improve with these three things."

We've been waiting nearly half a century for computer-based information technologies to revolutionize education. While some in authority (including vendors) may supply glowing eports on the progress we've made, visionaries and pioneers like Doug Engelbart and Alan Kay insist we're not only "not there yet," but that we haven't yet fully grasped what "there" might mean.

Alan November condenses a number of his ideas and those that come up in his interviews and presentations available from this website. There are also a number of suggestions on how students can contribute to their learning community.

Alan November condenses a number of his ideas and those that come up in his interviews and presentations available from this website.

key points (see also my bookmark to the BLC '07 keynote by Professor McFarlane) - technology is not helping learning (1:30) - american high schools are counterproductive to success in knowledge society (Bill Gates) (2:30) - have a model where kids produce their own digital representation of how they see the world (4:00) - make learning deeper rather than try to cover a lot of content but shallow learning (5:00) - one suggestion is teaching people to be able to recognise an evidence-based argument and not be susceptible to incorrect information (6:00) - model for assessment based on this sort of change to curriculum (7:30) - meaningful coursework - mainly in school - not allowing homework to restrict their self learning - treat school like work in a way with emphasis on quality not quantity (10:00) - need to connect with parents who see school as different than their schooling and unsure about its benefits (11:00) - access to technology (12:00) - benefit based on having the access first bit also that their environment but also their culture at home helps them benefit - top 15% (from BLC keynote) are getting most benefit from access and their culture - but these normally high achievers can't see school as relevant to them based on what they experience at home and are failing at school (13:30) - community knowledge and learning capacity building in technology (14:00) - "digital challenge" program in Bristol (14:40) - community mentors that learn something then teach to others in the community - giving more people access and that means they can have choices on what they can do

@langwitch Her post in the series "The Digital Learning Farm" based on Alan November's work of "The Digital Learning Farm", which he also outlines in his chapter of Heidi Hayes Jacobs' book "Curriculum 21".

Last week I spent three days thinking about curriculum and all that it means to teaching and learning thanks to the Australian Curriculum Studies Association's biannual conference. It was three days of deeply thoughtful conversation and learning with just the right mix of academic research and ideas for grounded practice straight out of innovative classrooms and schools. With keynotes by Alan Reid, Dan Haesler, Bob Lingard, Robert Randall and Jan Owen combined with Masterclasses from some of Australia's leading educators there was much on offer. The biggest challenge was deciding which workshop you would attend when every session offered such outstanding opportunities.

lots pf freebies from this highly recognised UK literacy guru

strategies/skills 1. Every day have one student as the 'official researcher' who is looking things up on the web and saving the key information for later access 2. Reflect on your work as a learner. Look at body of work over time and reflect on what you've learnt and what you need to learn next. In a class it can be a podcast to review what has happened and how it fits in. 3. Documentation - not everyone has to write the notes. Someone or a couple of people are scribes and does the note taking but the class reviews at the end to make sure the notes are accurate and complete. It is saved where everyone and access it. 4. Suggests kids can research what they'd like to do for assignments

On Saturday I had the opportunity to join a group of very enthusiastic teachers to hear Alan November and Carl Jarvis speak at North Turramurra Primary School. That so many educators from across Sydney were keen to give up a Saturday is a testament to their desire to improve their teaching but also a measure of the respect these speakers garner.